Mullingar
by AvatarJewel
Summary: Alice lives a very average life at Voltmer High School with her twin brother Harrison and best friend Caitlen. But a surprise Irish exchange student may just change that. When Alice's friend Josh takes in Niall Horan, a relationship quickly buds between Alice and her new foreign friend. But will their feelings be strong enough to go the distance: all the way to Mullingar?


Hello all and welcome to my first One Direction FanFic! This is a Niall Horan fic and I'm having tons of fun writing it! School is closing so I'll have more time to work on it I promise! For now though, enjoy!

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I rolled over and pulled the blankets over my head letting out a groan of annoyance. Another sleepless night had come and gone. I could hear water rushing through the pipes that were so unfortunately placed in the ceiling above my bed indicating that the shower was running. People were already awake and getting ready for the day. It was only a matter I time before my alarm went off but I didn't want to look at my phone to check the time. It was like a game of surprises except it wasn't much of a game. I let out a deep sigh into the giant wool comforter that rested on my face. For the first time all night, sleepiness washed over me.

_Great_. I thought._ Just in time for school_.

My eyes fluttered shut for a moment. I let my mind wander just long enough to slip out of consciousness.  
It wasn't long enough though...  
I was jolted upright by the sound of my alarm. The spasm that coursed through my arm from the shock caused me to knock my blaring cell phone onto the floor.

"Shit!" I hissed, throwing my covers off and leaping out of the bed. I reached down and scooped up my phone, switching off the alarm. I sighed, tossing it on my bed and stretched my arms out in front of me. Grabbing up the brush I began combing through my thick brown hair. I tugged at a few heavy knots, getting irritated at my sad attempt to tame the beast atop my head.

"Alice!" I heard a voice call up the steps. I rolled my eyes and put down my brush.

"What!?" I called back.

"Shut up!" A third voice hollered, muffled by the walls. I stood and moved toward the door with long strides. Pushing it open, I bounded to the end if the hall, at the top of the steps. Looking down, I saw my mother standing on the bottom step, leaning on the side rail.

"What?" I repeated in a softer voice. She frowned and crossed her arms.

"Your dog..." She began. I threw my head back and groaned, barreling down the steps, past my mom.

"Right, sorry," I said with a sigh.  
As I walked down the hall, toward the living room I heard my mom call up the steps again.

"Harrison! You need to wake up!" I chuckled and shook my head. My eyes fell on the large German Shepard pacing by the front door. Wen he caught sight of me, his large tail thumped against the front door.

"Hey Cyrus" I laughed. Cyrus fell into a bow, wagging his tail high in the air. I patted his head and opened the door for him. He rushed through the threshold and out into the yard. A heavy breeze ripped through my hair and I hugged my chest tightly.

_Note to self_, I thought,_ wear a hoodie to school_.

After Cyrus finished his business we stepped back inside and I ran up the steps and back into my room. Quickly, I threw on a pair of dark jeans and an old T-shirt with a tiger sprinting across the front. I ran the brush through my hair one last time and slipped into a mint green hoodie. Tossing my bag over my shoulders as stuffing my phone in my pocket, I headed for the steps again. I smirked as I walked past my twins door.

"Harrison lets go!" I called. "I may not have my license yet but that won't stop me from leaving without you!"

I moved down the steps and walked into the kitchen where my mother sat at the table drinking her coffee.

"Where's your brother?" She asked between sips. As I opened my mouth to give a response I heard a voice from behind me.

"Right her mom," he muttered, throwing on his back pack. His dark brown hair was a mess and his dark blue t-shirt was wrinkled on both sides. I chuckled, and grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table.

"See you later mom," I said stepping out the back door.

"Bye" Harrison mumbled. My mom waves as she took another sip of her coffee and before she could get out her goodbyes, the door snapped shut.  
My brother and I slid into the old Jeep and moments late we were in motion down the road.  
We drove in silence until we reached the school parking lot just ten minutes later.

"So are you doing track this spring?" I asks as I stepped out of the car. He shrugged, slamming his door shut.

"I don't know yet," he said. "Josh says he might do soccer this season." I smiled and started across the parking lot.

"Do you always let Josh determine what you do?" Harrison let out a fake laugh.

"He's my best mate. If he's not doing track, then why would I?" I shook my head and looked up as I pushed through the metal doors that opened up into the Student Lobby.

"What about you?" He asked, filling close behind me. "You doing Lacrosse this spring?"

"Most likely," I answered, turning down into what students called "The Channel"; a long hallway that connected each of the separate wings of the school. I nuzzled my way through throngs of students headed in the opposite direction, catching small bits if several conversations along the way.

"I hate Tuesdays! I have political science first period on Tuesdays and its so boring!"

"...couldn't even look at her without wanting to vomit!"

I rolled my eyes and made my way to the intersection of The Channel and the Language Wing, turning into the less crowded hallway.  
Harrison stayed at my heels and heaved a sigh.

"I hate The Channel," he commented.

"It's unavoidable for the most part," I replied. His silence confirmed my point as we continued to the end of the hallway. I could see a familiar figure fiddling with the lock on one of the large blue lockers that lined the walls.

"Hey Julianne!" Harrison smiled, brushing past me to lean against the locker next to the sleek, brown haired girl. Julianne returned his smile as she pulled the lock off of her locker.

"Hey Har," she chirped. "Hey Alice." She passed me a similar grin and faced her attention back to her locker, pulling things onto the top shelf and replacing the books in her bag.

"You ready for our Calc test today?" Harrison asked, attempting to strike up a conversation. I rolled my eyes slightly and kept walking further down the hall towards my locker.

"See you later Har," I mumbled with a smirk. He threw me a wink and went back to his conversation.

A few feet down the hall, I stopped at my locker and began to turn the lock.

_17...27...4_

The lock popped off the hook as I pulled open the rusty blue door.  
As I began exchanging the books from my bag to my locker I heard a voice call from down the hallway.

"Alice!" I lifted my head and turned my attention to the tall, sandy blonde haired girl bustling down the corridor. I chuckled and slammed the metal door shut.

"Caitlen!" I returned her enthusiasm in a slightly mocking manner but Caitlen's smile didn't falter.

"Guess what!?" She beamed, stoping in front of me. I couldn't help but smile.

"Uh... What?" I asked. Caitlen grinned and dug into her jean pocket and pulled out a slim and very clean looking iPhone. I gazed at my reflection in the already fingerprinted glass screen.

"You finally got a smart phone!" I exclaimed. She nodded vigorously. I started walking back down the hallway again an she walked at my side.

"Yupp!" She grinned, sliding the phone back into her pocket. "My dad figured, with all the Internet data I ran through my old phone, which costed money, it'd be cheaper to get me a smartphone!" She looked down at me slightly. "And on top of that, I got unlimited texting!" I shook my head and laughed.

"You don't think you text enough already?" I asked with a smirk.  
Caitlen had obviously chosen not to hear me because she continued prattling on about another thing.

"Do you think I should dye my hair? I think my color is boring."  
I looked up and scrunched my nose a bit.

"Don't dye your hair," I protested. "It's a really cool color now! It's sort if brown but also blonde too. It's unique!" I tried sounding interested but the boy with black curly hair that had turned into the hallway caught my attention.

"Oh hey, it's Josh!" I said, interrupting my friends sentence. She didn't seem to mind though. I noticed that Harrison and Julianne had spotted him as well and were already standing a few feet from him. Caitlen and I reached their trio just seconds later, spilling into their conversation.

"You'll all have to meet her!" Josh was saying.

"Meet who?" I asked.

"His foreign exchange student," Julianne answered with a flare of excitement in her eyes.

Julianne had been part of the foreign exchange program and had gone to France for a semester the year before. she had always seemed anxious to return. The exchange program deeply interested her so it wasn't surprising that talk of it widened her smile.

"Oh," I said, raising an eyebrow. "Where is she from?" Josh ruffled his curls and smirked.

"Ireland," he grinned. He and Harrison exchanged mischievous glances. I rolled my eyes but said nothing.

"What's her name?" Caitlen asked. Josh shrugged.

"Not sure. They haven't told me her name." The four of us stared at Josh curiously. Harrison finally spoke up after an awkward pause.

"Wait," he began, "if you don't know her name, then how do you know that it's a girl?" I gave a small nod as if to confirm that we all were wondering the same thing.

"I don't," Josh replied with a shrug. "I just really hope it is." Julianne scoffed, the flare of excitement turning to disgust.

"Oh lord, you really think Dr. Rosen is going to assign a female exchange student to YOU?" Caitlen gave a snort of laughter.

"Especially after the Junior Prom incident last year!" She mocked. I couldn't help but let out my own laughter. Josh's face flushed a shade of red.

"Hey," he protested, "I got a date, didn't I?" It was Harrison's turn to make fun of his best friend.

"Yeah, with Taylor Kennedy!" Josh looked down at his feet.

"Wait, what's wrong with Taylor Kennedy?" Julianne asked innocently, with an annoyed glare. Harrison's face fell slightly as if he'd just embarrassed himself and he stayed quiet.

"She's a whack job," Caitlen said with a shrug. "She only said yes because the tennis team paid her to keep Josh from bugging them." Julianne cracked a small smile as Caitlen continued the story. "You see, Josh was so desperate to get a date to J. Prom that he asked every girl on every sports team. The Tennis team was next in line so they paid Taylor to ask him. Josh, being the nice lad that he is, couldn't say no..."

"We dated for like a month after that and then she started talking about how many kids we were gonna have!" Josh blurted out. "She was nuts!" I chuckled.

"Long story short," I said, turning Julianne, "Dr. Rosen would be mental to pair Josh up with a foreign female." Josh rolled his eyes and shifted the weight of his backpack onto his other shoulder.

"Well," he began, "you can say all you want but I'm going to carry on thinking that it's a girl."

"When do you find out?" Caitlen inquired.

"3rd period," he said with a grin. "I'll be meeting her at the office, giving them a tour of the school during fourth period and then taking her to my other classes." Julianne scoffed every time Josh said "her" but said nothing. It was Harrison that spoke up.

"So we'll meet them during lunch 5th period?" He asked. Josh nodded.  
"Yupp. His first Cafe lunch at an American school." I smirked and pushed my hair begin my ear.

"Lucky him!" Josh responded with a shrug as he checked his cell phone.

"Well, I have to get to class," he said slowly, glancing over at Caitlen, who shared his first period class. She nodded and pulled on the strings of her hoodie.

"Yeah, we've got a quiz today." I tilted my head to the side slightly.

"English?" I asked, forgetting their first class. They nodded simultaneously.

"What's it on?" Julianne asked with a smile. She was one of the only people I who enjoyed English and always tried to convince people that it was the best subject out there.

"The Awakening," Josh answered with a roll of his eyes. Julianne's face lit up.

"By Kate Chopin!?" She chirped, obviously already knowing the answer. Caitlen nodded to humor her and she clapped her hands in front of her chest gleefully. "That one's a classic! How are you liking it so far?"

"I'm not," Josh muttered. He turned away from Julianne as her face fell in disbelief. "I'll see you at lunch," he said, beginning to walk away. "You comin' Cait?" He didn't turn around to address her. Caitlen gave Julianne a small shrug as if to say sorry and smiled at us.

"Right behind you!" She said, catching up to him. Julianne, who kept her frown, followed behind them. She opened her mouth to protest Josh's negative words but Harrison raced after her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Best to not argue with him," he reassured her.  
I couldn't help but smile at the two of them as they walked together. They'd for sure make a cute couple. Looking at the clock, I sighed and turned back toward my locker and frowned, pushing open the large door that led into my Spanish classroom. Mr. Gonzales sat at his desk drumming quietly with his fingers to the beat of the Spanish ballot that rang throughout the room. I felt dread wash over me as I stood in the doorway.  
Of course... It was "una dia de bailar".

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**Author's Notes: **

**So, I know you're all dying to know what going to happen next! Or not... Whichever is fine. Yes, no Niall in chapter 1 but don't you fret, he's a-comin'!**


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